Mr. Van Sluys MTS

First of all, sorry for missing last week's blog post.  I left the school on Friday, and it somehow slipped my mind.  Here is the blog for the last two weeks: Last week we wrapped up our gymnastics unit and this week shifted into one of the students’ favourite activities: Mission Impossible. Throughout our gymnastics unit, a major focus has been on developing body control and maintaining strong concentration. Whether students were working on balances, jumps, or creative movements, the emphasis was always on moving with purpose and control. We talked a lot about how being aware of your body in space helps not only in gymnastics, but in all physical activities. Students made great progress in tightening their movements, sticking their landings, and staying focused from start to finish. To celebrate the end of the unit, we introduced Mission Impossible. This is a series of obstacle courses set up around the gym that challenge students to apply everything they have learned. Each s...

This week we began our gymnastics unit in earnest (last week we just learned the warm-up), and the students were excited to get moving in some new ways. Every class began by practicing our gymnastics warm-up, which is made up of a series of “animal travels.” Students move across the gym like different animals to get their bodies warm and ready for movement. Some of the movements are the crab walk, penguin walk, and monkey crawl. These movements help students build strength, coordination, and body control, which are all important skills for gymnastics. After warming up, we began working on some foundational gymnastics skills. This week our focus was on balances and learning how to hold our bodies still and strong in different positions. Students also practiced jumps and safe landings, making sure to land softly with bent knees and good balance. For the older students, we added an extra challenge by practicing different “get-ups.” These are creative ways to get up from the floor witho...